Steam pumping-engine



3' Sheets-Sheet 1..

M E E C. C.- WEBBER. STEAM PUMPING ENGINE.

Patented Mar. El, 1898.

(No Model.)

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3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model. j) l G. C. WEBBER. STEAM EUMEING ENGINE.

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PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES C. WEBBER, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

STEAM PUMPlNG-ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 493,668, dated March21, 1893. Application filed April 2, 1892. Serial No. 427,468. (Nomodel.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES C. WEBBEE, of Springfield, in the county ofHampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Steam Pumping- Engines, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, formingpart thereof.

My invention relates to direct acting pumping-engines, and it has forits object to provide such an engine with means whereby the steam can becut off from the steam cylinder` or cylinders at any part of the strokeand the steam used expausively for the remainder of the stroke of thepiston, with practically no` diminution inthe acting pressure upon thepiston of the water cylinder and without the use of dy or balancewheels.

To this end my invention consists `in the pumping engine providedwiththe means for mechanically compensating for the loss of pressure dueto cutting 0E the steam from the steam cylinder hereinafter fullydescribed and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, in which like letters and numerals designatelike parts in the several Iigures, Figure l is a plan view of a pumpingengine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof, withthe parts occupying the same position as in Fig. l. Fig. 3 is acrosssection taken upon line 3-3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail'viewpresently to Fig. 5 is a side elevation of certain parts of themechanism, with said parts shown in the reverse position to that shownin Fig. 2. Fig. G is a plan view of said parts in the same position.

The letterA designates the steam cylinder and B the Water cylinder of acommon form of pumping engine, said cylinders containing the usualpistons a, h and having connected therewith the usual piston-rods ab,respectively. The steam cylinder is provided with the valves 4 5governing the admission of steam to the opposite ends thereof and withthe exhaust valves 6 7, which are preferably of the Well known rotaryform and are operated as will be presently described. Instead o'fconnecting the piston of the steam cylinder directly with that of thewater cylinder, I pivotally connect with the water piston-rod twotoothed sectors, each of which operatively engages a rack, and join thesteam piston-rod with each of said sectors by suitable connecting rods,whereby I am enabled to utilize the leverage afforded by said sectors tocompensate for the loss of pressure upon the steam piston when the steamis cnt off, for the completion of the stroke in both directions.

The letter C designates which is pivotally mounted upon a crosshead b2secured to the end of the water piston-rod b', and D designates theconnecting rod which connects said sector With a guideblock 0,2 securedto the steam piston-rod at a point substantially midway between the endsof the latter. The opposite sector C is pivotally mounted upon alhead-block b3 rigidly secured to the ends of two rods b4, which rods attheir opposite ends are rigidly secured to the cross-head b2, and aconnecting rod D connects said sector with a `guide-block a3 secured tothe steam piston-rod atI its outer end. Said cross-head b2, head-blockb3, and guideblocks 0:2 as are guided at their upper and lower ends insuitable guides E F, see Fig. 3, whereby they are caused to move in atrue horizontal plane and with but slight friction. Each of said toothedsectors meshes with a rack C3, which racks are supported in bedpieees C1in such manner as to be capable of a limited movement thereon in ahorizontal plane, the amount of such movement corresponding to thedistance which the steam piston moves from the time it begins its strokeuntil the steam is `cut off, preferably onefourth of its entire strokeor less. Each of one of said sectors,

said bed-pieces C4 has pivotally secured toits inner end a detent-leverc, adapted to have a slight rocking movement in a vertical plane, onearm of which lever occupies a recess or depression in the upper face ofthe bed-piece and is adapted, in its raised position, to projectslightly above said face and to engage the end of the rack, and theother arm of which is suitably connected with one end of the steamcylinder, whereby said lever will be automatically operated by the steamadmitted to said cylinder at the beginning of the stroke of the pistonto cause it to release the rack, as will be presently described. As oneexample of such connectionI have herein shown the arm of each of saidlevers as being ICO connected to the upper member of a steam diaphragmG, of a well known construction, which diaphragms are connected withopposite ends of the steam cylinder by pipes g, and have shown as ameans for assisting the action of said diaphragms to return the levers jto their normal position, coil springs c connected at their upper end tosaid levers and at their lower end to thebed of the engine. inlet valve4 at the outer end of the steam cylinder is connected by a rod 8 withthe de- 'pending arm of a lever 9 having two upwardly said levers androcking the latter, causes an vautomatic operation of the valves 4E 5 toadmit steam alternately to opposite ends of said cylinder-'and "to cut othe same at a point in the stroke which can be accurately predeterminedby varying the angleofthe tappet-arms of each lever relatively to eachother, in a well 'known manner. The exhaust valve 7 at the inner end ofthe steam cylinder is-operated by two tappet-levers l5 16, which arelocated adjacent to each end of the stroke of the'guide-'block a2 andare adapted to be al` ternately engaged by a portion of said block, I arod l7'to which each of said levers is con-v nected, 'and a lever i8;and a rod 19 connecting the opposite end of said lever 18 with the`exhaust valve 6 at the outer end of the cylinder, 4transmits lnotionfrom the former to the latter, whereby both of said valves are operatedsimultaneously, the one opening as the other closes, in a manner whichwill be Well' understood by persons skilled in the art without furtherdescription. It will be understood that said valve motions are hereinshown as one example of the many forms of means in common use for suchpurpose, merely, and

that 'I do not restrict myself to the use of the particular form ofvalve shown nor to the means shown for operating the same the broaderfeatures of my invention being adapted to be used in connection with anyof the forms of valves and valve motions with which' directactingpuinpingengines have heretofore been supplied, it being essentialmerely thatmeans be provided for cutting off the steam at an earlyperiod of the stroke of the piston.

At the beginning of the stroke of the steam piston Vin either direction,the long arm of one of the sectors C or C and its connecting rod D or Dare in direct parallelism with the piston-rods a b,and maintain suchposition until the steam is cut off, the steam piston during such timeexerting a direct pushing action against the water piston in ahorizontal plane, and for the purpose of preventing the said long arm ofthe sector and its ,connecting-rod from being deflected from a straightThe line with each other during such Y period, I provide means wherebythe pivotal connection between said parts will be positively guided in ahorizontal plane from the beginning of the stroke to the point at whichthe steam is cut off, and as a simple form of means for such purpose Ihave herein shown a guide-block H rigidly supported in any suitablemanner adjacent to the path of movement of said pivotal connectionduring the period mentioned, said block having within its inner side ahorizontal groove 7L, see Fig. 4, and having its inner side beveledabove said groove as shown, and a pin or stud hlocated within a socketin the pivot-pin h2, which connects the sector to its connecting rod, insuch manner as to be capable of a limited longitudinal movementtherein,"acoil spring h3 within said vsocket exerting an outwardpressure upon said studorlpin. As .the idle sector and 1its connectingrod descend from an angular position to one in whichthey are in astraight line with each other, which occurs d-uringthe time whentbeopposite and active sector and its connecting rod'are transmitting thepressure of the steam piston to the water piston, said pin or stud hismoved downwardly against the beveledv surface of said guide-block H,and, yielding sufficiently to pass said surface, is projected by itsspring into the groove 7i, in which it travels upon the return stroke tothe end of said groove, or'in other words to the point in the strokeatwhich the cut-off occurs, thereby positively preventing the deflectionofthe arm of the sector-'and its connecting rod from a straight linewith 'each other during such movement.

The operation of the mechanism thus described is as vfollowsz-Supposingthe parts to be in the position shown in Figs. 5 and 6, with the steampiston at the outer endof its stroke, the connecting rod D and long armof sectoi` C occupying aposition parallel with the p iston-'rods a b',connecting rod VD and sector G occupying the angular position shown, andthe rack with which said sector C engages held from movement by itsdetent-lever c, the steam enters the cylinder A through inlet valve 4and, simultaneously therewith, passes to the diaphragm G and operatesthe latter to cause the depression of said detent c and the release ofthe rack with which said sector C en gages. During the first part of itsstroke the steam piston acts directly against the wat-er piston, the twopiston-rods, connecting rod D, and the long arm of sector C forming adirect connection for such purpose, and said connecting rod and armbeing held from deflection from a straight line with each other by theirguide irl. During such portion of the stroke also, the two piston-rods,the sectors, the connecting rods, and the racks move as one, said rackssliding freely upon their bedpieces.' Such movement continues until pin14 on the guide-block a2 rocks the tappet-leveri) and operates valve etto cut off the steam, at which time the two racks come into engage- IOOEIO

ment with the end walls of their bed-pieces, whereby they are preventedfrom further movement in that direction, and the rack with` which sectorC engages is held by its detent from movement in the opposite direction.The pivotal connection between the connecting rod D and sector C havingnow passed beyond the end of its guide H, the continued movement of thesteam piston, due to the expansion of the steam in cylinder A, causessaid connecting rod to swing said sector C about its axis, and theengagement of its teeth with those of its now stationary rack convertssaid swinging movement thereof into a progressive movement of the waterpiston, which continues until the end of the stroke, the connecting rodD and sector C at the same time descending from their angular positionto one of parallelism with each other. By reference to the drawings itwill be observed that the steam cylinderis of sufficiently greaterlength than the water cylinder to permit the two pistons to have therequisite dierence between the length of theirrespectivestrokes, thesteam piston having an excess of movement over the water pistoncorresponding to the arc traversed by the pivotal connection between theconnecting rod and the long arm of the sector. The two pistons havingnow reached the ends of their respective strokes, the guide-block a2reverses the position of the valves for the return stroke. On suchreturn stroke the sector C and connectingrod D become the active parts,transmitting the movement of the steam piston to the water pistonthrough the rods b4 as before described, and their action is identicalwith those of the sector C and connecting rod D just described. Byreason of the great leverage obtained through the long arms of the twosectors and the connecting rods, I secure substantially the samepressure against the water piston from the expansive energy of thesteam, after cutting off the latter, as is exerted thereon by the livesteam before the cut olf, and, consequently, I am enabled to cut off thesteam at a very'early part of the stroke without impairing the Work ofthe engine. In other words, I thereby provide means for mechanically andautomatically compensating for the loss of pressure upon the steampiston due to cutting off the live steam. It will be observed,furthermore, that I secure such compensation without previously addingto the work to be performed by the live steam, as is the case with mostif not all of the compensating mechanisms heretofore devised, which havegenerally operated upon the principle of subtract-inga portion of thepower exerted by the live steam and storing it`for use after the cutoff. In my mechanism, on the contrary, the live steam, until the cutoff, exerts its full power directly upon the water piston, both theactive and the idle compensating devices moving freely with the twopiston1ods during such period, and it is notuntil the cut oft` occursthat the active compensating device begins its work, its

powerful leverage being exerted from thence to the end of the stroke. Byproviding for an excess in the length of the stroke of the steam pistonover that of the water piston, I am enabled to secure a percentage ofuseful effect from the expansive energy of the steam which cannot besecured in an engine whose steam and water pistons move with the samelength of stroke. It will be seen, therefore, that without materiallyincreasing the cost of construction of the ordinary direct actingpumping engine, I am enabled to effect a very material saving in thecost of operating the same.

While I have illustrated my invention in connection with a pumpingengine having a single steam cylinder, it will be apparent that it isequally applicable to compound, duplex, and compound-duplex engines, thenecessary intermediate connections for which will be understood bypersons skilled in the art without description or illustration of thesame herein. Believing myself to be the rst to devise a pumping enginewhose steam and Water pistons move in unison through a portion of theirstroke and whose steam piston has an excess of movement over that of thewater piston during the remainder of the stroke, with intermediateconnections for mechanically and automatically increasing the pressureexerted by said steam piston during the latter portion of its stroke, Ido not wish to restrict myself to the precise form or arrangement ofsaid intermediate connections as herein shown and described, the samebeing capable of various modifications within the spirit of myinvention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a steam pumping engine, the combination with the steam and Watercylinders and their pistons and piston-rods, of a bell-crank leverconnected to and carried by the water piston-rod, a connecting `rodconnecting one arm of said lever with the steam piston-rod, and a stopadapted to be engaged by the opposite armv of said lever, substantiallyas and for the purpose described. f

2. In asteam pumping engine, the combination with the steam and watercylinders thereof and their pistons and piston-rods, of suitable steaminlet, cut-off, and exhaust mechanism for said steam cylinderoperatively connected with the steam piston-rod, a toothed sectorconnected with and carried by said water piston-rod, a jointedconnection between said sector and the steam rack adapted to be engagedby said sector, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. In asteam pumping engine,the combination with the steam and waterpiston-rods thereof, a toothed sector pivotally mounted upon and carriedby said water piston-rod, intermediate jointed connections between saidsector andthe steam piston-rod, and a movable rack operatively engagingthe teeth of piston-rod, and a IIC IZO

said sector, substantially as and for the purpose set '-forth.

4. In a steam pumping engine, the combination with the steam and waterpiston-rods thereof, of a toothed sector pivotally connectp ed with saidwater piston-rod, a rod connecting said sector with the steampiston-rod, a`

movable rack operatively engaging the teeth of said sector, a fixed stoppermanently limiting the movement of said rack in one direction, and amovable detent adapted to temporarily limit its movement in the oppo--site direction, substantially as and for the purpose described.

ing the teeth on said lever, a iixed stop for limiting the movement ofsaid rack in one direction, a movable detent for limiting itsvmovementin the oppositedirection,and means f substantially as describedfor automatically i retracting said detent from its engagement with therack upon theadmission of steam to one end ot' the steam cylinder,arranged andl Y nation with the steam and water piston-rods 6. In asteampumping engine, the combioperating substantially as set forth.

nation with the steam and Water cylinders thereof and their pistons andpiston rods,of a toothed sector pivotally mounted upon and J carried bythe waterpiston-rod, a jointed connection between said sector and thesteam piston-rod, a movable rack engaging the teeth of said sector, alixed stop for limiting the movement of said rack in one direction, adetent-lever for limiting its movement in the opposite direction, aliquid or iiuid pressureactuated device operatively connected with saiddetent-lever and adapted by impart-ing movement thereto to withdraw thelatter from its engagement with said rack, and pipe connections betweensaid device and one end of the steam cylinder, arranged and operatingsubstantially as set forth.

7. The combination with the steam and water cylinders of a pumpingengine and their pistons and piston-rods, of two toothed leverspivotally connected to and carried by the water piston-rod, jointedconnections substan-v tially as described between each of said leversand the steam piston-rod, two movable racks engaging the teeth on saidlevers, two fixed stops for limiting the movement of said racks in onedirection, and movable stops for limiting their movement in the oppositedirection,

` arranged and operating substantially as set forth.

8. The combination with the steam and water cylinders of a pumpingengine, their pistons and piston-rods, and suitable valve gear governingthe admission of steam to and its exhaust from said steam cylinderoperatively connected with the steam piston-rod, of two toothed sectorsoperatively connected to and `moving with the waterpiston-rod,connecting rods connecting leach of said sectors with the steampiston-rod,movable racks engaging the teeth of said sectors, iixed stopsfor limiting the movement ot said racks in one direction, movabledetents for limiting their movement in the opposite direction,pressure-actuated devices operatively connected with said detents forwithdrawing them from theirv engagement with said racks, and pipeconnections connecting said devices with opposite ends of the steamcylinder respectively, substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

9. 'The combination with the steam and water cylinders of a pumpingengine, their pistons and piston-rods, and suitable valve connections asdescribed, ot two toothed sectors mounted upon axes which rare rigidlyconnected to the water -piston-rod, connecting rods connecting one ofsaid sectors to the steam piston-rod at the outer end of the latter andthe other at a point substantially midway between the ends of saidpiston-rod, movable racks engaging the teeth ot' said sectors, and stopsfor limiting the movement of said racks, arranged and operatingsubstantially as set forth.

10. In a steam pumping engine, the combithereof, of across-head, as b2,secured to said water piston rod, a head-block, as b3, suitably guidedupon the -frame of the machine, rigid connections as the rods b4,connecting said head-block to said cross-head, two toothed sectorsmounted respectively upon said headblock and said cross-head, connectingrods connecting-each of said sectors with the steam piston-rod, movableracks engaging the teeth of said sectors, and stops for limiting the IOOmovement of said racks, substantially as described.

l1. In the pumping engine herein described, the combination with thetoothed sectors carried by the Water piston-rod and operativelyconnected with the steam piston-rod, of the bed-pieces C, the racks C3engaging the teeth of said sectors respectively and having a capacityfor a limited sliding movement upon said bed-pieces, and thedetent-levers c mounted upon said bed-pieces and adapted, in one oftheir positions, to engage said racks to prevent movement of the latter,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

12. In a steam pumping engine, the combi' nation with the steam andwater piston-rods, of a bell-crank lever carried by said waterpiston-rod, a rod connecting one of the arms of said lever with thesteam piston-rod, and a guide for holding said rod and the arm of thelever to which it is connected in alignment with each other and parallelwith said piston-rods during a portion of the stroke of the latter,substantially as set forth.

13. In a steam pumping engine the steam and water pistons of which movein unison during the first part of their stroke, the combination withthe steam and water cylinders thereof and their pistons and piston-rods,of intermediate connections substantially as described between saidpiston-rods whereby the steam piston has a movement in excess of that ofthe Water piston during the latter part of the stroke of said pistons,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

14. In a steam pumping engine, the steam piston of which has a greaterlength of stroke than the water piston, the combination with the steamand water cylinders thereof and their pistons and piston-rods, ofintermediate connections substantially as described between saidpiston-rods for mechanically increasing the pressure exerted by thesteam piston against the water piston during the latter portion of thestroke of said pistons, substantially as set forth.

l5. In a steam pumping engine the steam and water pistons ot which movein the same 0r parallel planes and the steam piston of which has agreater length of stroke than the water piston,the combination with thesteam and water pistons thereof and their pistonrods, of a leverpivotally connected with and carried by one of said piston-rods,intermediate jointed connections between one arm of said lever and theother piston-rod, and a fulcrum adapted to be engaged by the oppositearm of said lever during the latter portion of the stroke of saidpistons, substantially as set forth.

CHARLES C. WEBBER. Witnesses:

W. H. CHAPMAN, J. E. CHAPMAN.

